Accidental
by simply-aly
Summary: Clarke didn't mean to get pregnant at twenty-one. Bellamy did not mean to have a one night stand with his sister's best friend. Accidents happen, as the saying goes, and they'll have to come together to deal with the fallout of their actions. (Modern AU)
1. Secret's Out

It's a rainy afternoon in March when Bellamy finds himself running in the rain with two cups of coffee and a bag of doughnuts from Monty's—the café run by Bellamy's long-time friend Monty. Perhaps it's a cliché for a cop to be having doughnuts and coffee on his break, but his sister is addicted to Monty's delicious treats and it's Wednesday—he always visits Octavia on Wednesday.

He reaches her apartment building and hits the button for her number. He taps his foot impatiently as the rain beats at his backside, soaking his uniform. He curses the building for not having a lobby where he can do this exchange. Finally, he hears the buzz and opens the door, walks up a flight of stairs and down the hallway to 210. He doesn't knock, just lets himself in.

He is a frequent visitor to the place, and all three girls have grown accustomed to his random visits—with the exception of his weekly Wednesday visits. His sister, Octavia, lives with two roommates—her best friend, Clarke, and Raven, who moved in a little over two months ago.

He's about to yell to Octavia, who he can't immediately see, but hears her voice first. It's distant, but he can tell she's on her phone, likely in her own room. He makes himself comfortable at the table and sets up their meal as he waits. Eventually, Octavia's voice gets louder, likely because she has moved to the bathroom to get ready.

"I know you're not sick, Clarke. Yes, you're perfectly capable of going to the store and getting milk. Yes, it's probably good for both of you right now. I know—I know. Yes, fine, but hurry back, okay? I just worry, you know that. Yeah, bye." Bellamy hears Octavia's footsteps getting closer. "Wait!" she suddenly calls into the phone. "Get saltine crackers, too. Bell used to tell me all the time that it helped Mom."

He doesn't hear the rest of the conversation. He used to tell Octavia _what_? The only time Bellamy ever remembers his mother eating saltine crackers was when she was pregnant with Octavia and had horrible morning sickness.

Octavia greets him with a smile as she reaches for her phone cord and plugs in her phone. "What'd you bring me this time?" she asks.

Perhaps he's still distracted by thoughts of Clarke and pregnancy, but he's done this routine so many times he answers mechanically. "Same coffee, and a custard doughnut with chocolate sprinkles."

Octavia smiles. "Perfect."

Neither speaks for a moment as Octavia pulls her plate closer and picks up her treat. Bellamy tries to act normal, takes a sip or two of his coffee, puts it down before picking it right back up. He stares at his doughnut contemplatively, then he speaks. "Clarke's _pregnant_?"

Octavia's eyes widen. "You weren't supposed to hear that. She didn't want anyone to know yet." Bellamy just stares at her, his training taking hold—silent staring usually keeps a suspect talking if they're nervous. "But…yeah, Clarke's pregnant."

"How long?" he asks. "I mean, she must still be in her first trimester, if she's still got morning sickness." Even as a small child, he picked up a lot when his mother was pregnant with Octavia.

"She says it happened on New Years Eve." Octavia makes an awkward gesture with her unoccupied hand as she takes another bite of her doughnut. "You know, after she found out about Finn and Raven. Apparently, she hooked up with some guy…and now…." She takes a long drink of her coffee to mask how awkward she feels, but Bellamy sees it all over her face.

Luckily for him, she's too busy worrying over her own feelings about gossiping about her best friend to notice his reactions. Not for the first time, Bellamy thanks his sister's preoccupied nature.

New Years Eve.

_He found her crying in a heap on the floor in a corner of the apartment, the music blaring loudly so none of the party-goers could hear her. A part of him just wanted the excuse to leave the room without Octavia's censure, but another was genuinely concerned. He had known Clarke her whole life and never saw her cry—not even when she skinned her knees or fell off the playground swing and broke her wrist. Clarke Griffin didn't cry, but she was then, and he was worried._

_He guided her to her bedroom unnoticed, and eventually got her to spill the whole story. How her boyfriend was cheating on her the whole time and how she suspects it's because she wouldn't put out for him._

_Bellamy just held her as she cried. She wasn't drunk and, if he knew Clarke, probably hadn't even touched the alcohol at the party. He'd had one beer, which had been shoved into his hand by his sister when he got there._

_"I just don't understand…how could he do that to me? How could he do that to _her_? Raven told me they'd been dating for over a year. He'd only been with me since July. How do you just pretend everything is normal when you're dating two girls at once? And how could I have been so stupid not to have _noticed_?"_

_"You deserve so much better than that piece of shit," Bellamy remarked, anger rising up within him._

_They talked well into the night, moving on easily from the topic of her recent break up. He sat beside her on her bed and he barely remembered the party going on outside the door._

_He wasn't sure who kissed who first, or how their clothes were removed. Everything was moving really fast and he was so distracted by the delicious way Clarke kissed him and the sensuous way she whispered his name that he couldn't bring himself to care._

_He'd stopped then, his body positioned over hers, his hands pushing into her light blue sheets on either side of her head. "Is this what you want?" he asked her, because he had to be sure. She seemed into it, but he had to know for sure._

_She had nodded before pulling him close and kissing his neck. "I need this," she whispered into his skin before arching herself up against him._

_That had been all the affirmation he'd needed._

New Years Eve. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He wants to hit something. He wants to throw something. He wants to fucking _yell_, but he can't. He can't do anything, because Octavia can't know yet. If it's true, if he really got Clarke Griffin pregnant, then he has to do her the fucking decency of talking to her about it first. Even if he can barely contain the urge to throw his coffee cup at the wall.

He's not ready for a baby. He's only just recently stopped being called 'rookie' at work. His guest bedroom at the house would probably take the entire pregnancy to convert into a livable nursery. He's been taking care of Octavia in some capacity since he was five years old and she's only recently become somewhat independent of him. He _likes_ his freedom. He doesn't want to be tied down by a _baby_ for the next eighteen years.

No longer able to contain himself across the table from Octavia, he picks up his coffee and stands, making like he wants to look out their window. It's not the worst view, looking out over the campus the girls all go to, but it's nothing to be admired during a meal of any sort.

"How are your classes?" he asks in a half-assed attempt to change the subject. "Is Keating still giving you a hard time?" He then tries to listen as his sister speaks about her classes and her problems with her English 102 professor and cheerleading, but he's only half focused on her words. Clarke, his little sister's best friend since middle school, is pregnant and he's pretty damn sure he's the father.

It's at this realization that he breaks from his thoughts as the door opens and Clarke walks in. "As I assured you on the phone, O," she begins as she sets a handful of bags on the floor without turning toward the kitchen. "I'm pregnant, not dying and perfectly capable of going to the store four blocks away."

Bellamy's grip on his coffee tightens marginally as he turns to face her. He watches her put her keys in the bowl by the door and hang up her coat before bending down once more and grabbing her bags. "I got the crackers, because I think my mom also mentioned that they helped her when she had me," she continues as she turns around, finally seeing him standing there. Her eyes widen almost imperceptibly. Bellamy notices, Octavia doesn't. "What are you doing here?" she asks.

Bellamy stumbles then, unable to speak the words. All he can focus on is the fact that the blonde standing before him is likely pregnant with his child.

Luckily for him, Octavia remains clueless to the tension and intervenes. "It's Wednesday, Clarke; Bell always comes on Wednesday before my psych class." She looks at her phone then. "Speaking of which, I gotta go, I'm gonna be late."

Bellamy watches as Clarke turns away from him and walks slowly and decisively to the refrigerator to put away the milk. As she busies herself rearranging the contents of the fridge, Octavia rushes around the apartment gathering her school things. After a moment, his sister rushes over to him, and kisses him on the cheek. She whispers, "Bye, Bell," before picking up her cup of coffee and stuffing the last bite of her doughnut in her mouth.

In no time, Octavia's out the door and Bellamy is alone with Clarke. Clarke, who he slept with on New Years Eve. Clarke, who is very likely carrying his child. Clarke, who is still rummaging around in the refrigerator.

Bellamy walks over to her, rests his hand on top of hers, and eases the door closed.

Clarke backs up and jumps when she hits the fridge. She looks like a deer in headlights and he can hear her breathing really fast. Bellamy uses this opportunity to find her other hand and slowly moves her hand so that one is against the door as well. "I think we need to talk, Clarke," he announces.

Clarke's eyes widen even further. "I—I don't…" she falters. Suddenly, something shifts in her eyes and all Bellamy sees is panic. She starts struggling with him. Bellamy's so shocked by the change in her demeanor that he doesn't fight back as she pushes away from him and runs down the hallway.

The next thing Bellamy hears is the sound of Clarke puking in the bathroom.


	2. A Discussion

When Clarke exits the bathroom fifteen minuets later—half the time devoted to her beloved morning sickness and half devoted to her desire to put off this conversation—she finds Bellamy seated at the table. Opposite him rests a pile of saltine crackers on a napkin and a glass of milk.

Clarke bites her lip as she sits down at the table, partly out of nervousness, and partly to keep herself from crying at the thoughtful gesture. Her emotions have been so out of control lately it's been driving Raven and Octavia crazy more often that not. Not that she can do much about pregnancy hormones, though, which just frustrates Clarke more than anything. Control is important to her, and this mistake—this _baby_—has her so out of control and so out of her depth that she feels like she's drowning.

As her right hand reaches for the glass of milk, she risks a glance at his face to determine his demeanor. Clarke doesn't know what she was expecting, but the calm way he's watching her surprises her.

Silence drags between them as Clarke watches the clock on the microwave, mentally counting the seconds between each minute. Of course, things need to be said, but she honestly doesn't know where to start.

After some time, Bellamy finally breaks. "Is it mine?" he blurts out suddenly, a rough edge to his voice.

Clarke sits up straighter and carefully sets down the glass of milk, which is now half empty. Perhaps she's just overemotional and stressed, but she becomes immediately defensive. Clarke only then becomes aware that she's had her left hand cradling her stomach. "She's _my_ baby, Bellamy," Clarke very nearly hisses.

She's been going at this alone for nearly eight weeks now, having figured out she could be pregnant and taking a test two and a half weeks after her night with Bellamy. Yes, the baby is his biologically, but more importantly, the baby is _hers_, and she doesn't actually know Octavia's brother well enough yet to feel any sort of safety in associating her baby with him. However, Bellamy keeps pushing, and a definitive answer is inevitable.

Bellamy sighs. "I know the baby is yours, Clarke, and I would never even think of changing that in any way, but if it is mine as well—if I am the baby's father—I want to know, and I want to be a part of this."

Clarke goes still as she contemplates what to do, what to say. She stands up and starts pacing the kitchen and living room. Her left hand has begun rubbing circles around her stomach, a habit she's picked up recently when she's feeling stressed, as if to comfort her baby. She chances a look over to Bellamy, who is now also standing, but hasn't moved from beside the table. He's watching her, though—or, more accurately, he's watching her stomach. She takes a deep breath.

"Yes, she's yours. I'm twelve weeks," she answers him and, anticipating the confusion on his face, she continues, "I don't know why, but apparently it's counted by the date of your last period. In any case, you were the only person I was with at the time, so she has to be yours."

"She?" Bellamy asks as he picks up on her use of the pronoun.

Clarke shrugs. "I won't know for sure for another two months or so, but I just have this _feeling_, you know?"

Bellamy nods, and Clarke watches his eyes as they stare down at her stomach. There's this look in them, this glimmer of vulnerability that makes her heart beat a little faster.

She moves back to the table and begins munching on the crackers and after a moment he starts asking her questions about the pregnancy. She answers easily, having said the same things to Octavia and Raven, the responses are nearly automatic by now.

"The morning sickness should be going away in the next few weeks as well, and I can't express how much of a relief that'll be. I've gained only about four pounds so far, but the OBGYN says that'll start changing quickly in the coming months. Luckily, Raven and Octavia have promised to help me shop for maternity clothes when it comes time for that…." She goes on and on, answering his questions about the baby, but redirecting any potential inquiry that isn't directly related to the welfare of the baby.

She gets the feeling he's allowing it for the most part, but she catches these little flashes of irritation every time she subverts him from asking the question she knows he wants to ask her. She doesn't want him to ask it, even more than she'd never wanted him to know about the baby, because she doesn't really know the answer.

Oh, she knows what she's been telling herself, and she knows what she's said to Octavia and Raven on the subject, but this is different. Clarke doesn't think she can lie to Bellamy, but the truth is too complicated. So, in an effort to put off the question, she's talked about everything, including her morning sickness woes and doctor visits. And yet, it's all for naught, because he manages to break through her diatribe and blurt it out.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Clarke doesn't answer at first. Then, finally, "I don't know," she whispers. "I mean, at first, I didn't want to believe it, and then I was embarrassed. I always knew she was yours, and I couldn't believe that I could be so careless and that one time was all it would take—and yes, don't look at me like that, I know 'one time is all it takes' but I mean, really, what are the odds? Then I just…so much time had passed I felt that I had already kept it from you, that you would probably be better off without the burden of a kid, that it would cause so much drama and stress here. It seemed easier just not to say anything."

Bellamy is silent then, as if taking the time to digest her words. Clarke watches him carefully, cataloging his responses and critically cataloging every move he makes. He seems to understand her reasons, but he also looks hurt.

Clarke continues, "Don't get me wrong, I _wanted_ to tell you. I thought about it so many times, even borrowed Octavia's phone to put your number in mine, but I could never actually call you. I guess, most of all, I was just scared…I'm still scared."

She's about to cry again. She can feel the tears welling up in her eyes, and her voice at the end there went all high and broken. And, from the look of alarm on Bellamy's face, he knows it.

She pushes herself off the couch where they had settled themselves for this conversation and walked over to the cupboard. She grabs another glass and opens the fridge, pulls out the milk, and pours herself a small amount. Her hands are all shaky and she's afraid she's going to drop the glass all over the floor, so she quickly drinks the milk and places the glass by the sink.

She busies herself with reloading the dishwasher, which allows her to face away from Bellamy as a few tears fall down her face. She wipes them away discreetly and works to compose herself.

"You don't have to be scared anymore, Clarke," she hears him say behind her. "I wish you would have told me sooner so that I could have been there for you. I wish you hadn't been doing this alone for so long."

Clarke closes the dishwasher, wipes her hands on a towel, and sighs before turning back around to face him. "I don't know what I'm doing, Bellamy. I don't know how to do this!"

Bellamy stands then too and walks directly up to her. His hands grab hold of hers, and she relaxes at the warmth of his larger hands covering hers. "It's going to be okay, I promise. I've done a lot of this with my mom when she was pregnant with Octavia. And you have her and Raven too, they'll help. And then there's your parents."

Clarke blanches. "I—I haven't told my mom yet."

Things calm down once again as Clarke explains to Bellamy that she didn't know how to tell her neurosurgeon mother she had unprotected sex one time and managed to get pregnant. Her dad's been away on an important engineering project for NASA for months and has been out of contact with her since he left. And she felt this was too much of a burden to tell her step-father while he was running for public office.

"And then there's Raven and Octavia, who know, but don't _know_." Clarke's eyes widen. "Oh, God! How am I going to tell Octavia?"

Bellamy opens his mouth to, Clarke assumes, impart some advise on how to tell his sister that her best friend had a one night stand with her brother when the girl in question walks through the door.

"How are you going to tell me what, Clarke?" Octavia asks, a look of concern on her face as she glances between Clarke and Bellamy.


End file.
